Drinking-tube.



G. J. DEFPNBR.

DRINKING TUBE.

rum-r1011 nun 11.11, 1911.

1,012,193. Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

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UNITED fil'AliiS PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE J. DEFFNER, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

DRINKING-TUBE.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, Gnonou J. Dnvrxnn, a citizen of the United States of America. residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Drinking-Tube, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for conveying liquid, and more particularly Water, to the mouth from a faucet, drinking fountain, tank, spring, brook, or other available source of supply, and consists essentially of a hollow member having a side opening therein and provided with a closure at one end and with a member adapted to close said side opening, with which parts and members may and preferably will be used a filter, all as hereinafter set forth.

The primary objects of my invention are, first, to produce a drinking device which is strictly sanitary. since with it water or other liquid can be conveyed to the mouth with out contact with any utensil, conduit, spout or receptacle, any of which latter may have been contaminated or infected in some way, and any and all foreign matter, whether organic or inorganic, is excluded from the mouth, when the filter is in place, as by preference it will be; and, second, to make provision in such a device, for taking liquid with it through either one side, as when the supply is a stream from afaucet, nipple or small pipe, or through one end, as when the supply is a spring or body of water of larger or small area and shallow.

Other objects are to provide a sanitary device of this kind which is simple and inexpensive in construction, is so small or compact that it can be carried readily in the pocket, is convenient to use, and withal is highly serviceable and eficient for the purpose for which it is intended and for people in all walks of life.

I attain these, and other objects which will appear in the course of the following description, by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a device which embodies my invention in a practical and preferred form, the side opening being uncovered and the cap in place; Fig. 2, a central longitudinal section through said device, and, Fig. 3. a side elevation of the same, with the side opening covered and the cap removed.

Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

Serial No. 602,074.

Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As represented in the drawings, my device comprises a hollow body or tube 1, open at both ends and having an opening 2 in one side; a movable closure 3 for said opening 2, such closure in this case consisting of a rotatable tubular pieoe fitted to said hollow body or tube 1, on the outside, and having an opening 4 therein which can be brought into alinement with said opening 2,as shown in Fig. 1, when said closure is positioned on said tube to uncover the opening therein; a closure for the back end of said tube, such last-mentioned closure being in the form of a removable cap 5 fitting the rear terminal of said tube; and a filter 6 located within the device between the opening 2 and the front or outlet terminal of the same. In addition to these parts and members, I prefer, for the sake of convenience, to furnish the tube 1 with a mouth-piece 7, which may be of any suitable shape and constructed in any suitable manner.

The mouth-piece 7 here shown is a member fitted to the front end of the body or tube 1 and removable therefrom, and this member has top and bottom concavities 8-8 to receive the li s or the lips and teeth and afford a good grip which can be closely and tightly maintained during the act of drinking. A further advantage of this detachable mouth-piece is that a very convenient means is afforded thereby for retaining the filter 6 in place, such filter being held between the converging top and bottom portions of said mouth-piece and the adjacent end of the tube 1. Then, again, when it is desired to change the filter 6, it is simply necessary to remove the mouth-piece 7 with the old filter from the front end of the tube 1, insert a new filter in said mouthpiece, and replace the latter with said lastmentioned filter over the aforesaid end of said tube, the mouth-piece encircling the tube while the filter bears against the annular end thereof.

Any of the numerous kinds of diaphragmal filters can be used with this device, but a simple porous disk of some suitable fibrous material, such as cocoanut-hair or jute, for example, is believed to be best for this purpose, sinee it is cheap and can be renewed or replaced easily and quickly. Moreover, such a. filter can be treated with an antiseptic still further to enhance the sanitary nature of the device.

The filter 6 should, of course, be changed frequently, or whenever it becomes in the least foul.

In practice, the liquid is received into the body or tube 1, either through the openings 2 and l or through the rear end, or, it might be, through both, and is drawn or sucked therefrom through the mouth-piece 7 while held between the lips, such liquid having first to pass through the filter (5 which strains out any foreign matter therein. ()r dinarily the cap 5 is left in place and the closure 3 turned so as to leave the opening 2 uncovered, when a. cup or receptacle of some little size is formed by the tube 1. from which the liquid can be drawn comfortably and in any reasonable quantity. the rear end of the device being inserted into the liquid, if the latter be of suflicient depth, or the device being placed with the opening 2 beneath a. stream or jet of the liquid, when the latter is flowing in that manner. In the event, however, that the liquid has to be taken from a shallow pool or other shallow body, the closure 3 is turned so as to cover the opening 2, the cap 5 is removed, and the end of the tube 1 thus uncovered is placed in the liquid.

The foregoing methods of using the device may be departed from in many cases, it not being necessary always for the cap 5 to be in place When the opening 2 is uncovered, nor is it always necessary to take the liquid through such opening from a deep body of liquid, but on the whole the aforesaid methods are more desirable than others for reasons which are apparent and need not be here entered into at further length. If, for any reason, it be desired to decrease the size of the opening 2 without entirely closing the same, this can be done readily by rotating the closure 3 to close partially said opening to Whatever ex tent may be required.

In the construction of my device it is preferable that the tube be somewhat longer than as shown in the drawings, and that it be of less diameter. The device, if constructed of a size somewhat like that of a large fountain pen or lead pencil is found most convenient for carrying in the pocket, and to provide ample opening for the How of water into the tube I construct the inlet opening '2 of a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the tube, and the cover or slide 3 is provided with an opening of like diameter so that, when open. an inlet opening is provided of ample area to supply the body of the tube, and the large opening renders it more convenient to hold the device below a faucet or a falling or trickling stream and insure the catching of the water.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A drinking device comprising a hollow member open at both ends and having a side opening of a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the tube, a mouth-piece for the front end of said member, a removable cap for the back end of said member, and a closure on said member, such closure having an opening therein of a. size equal to the side opening in the hollow member and arranged to be brought into alinement with said side opening.

2. A drinking device comprising a tube open at both ends and having a side opening adjacent one end as large in area as the tube opening in cross-section, a mouth-piece removably mounted at one end of the tube, a closure at the opposite end of the tube, a rotatable collar mounted on the tube and having an opening through it sufiicient to expose the full opening in the side of the tube when turned to the open position, and

solid for a distance to close said side opening when turned to the closed position, and a filter in the front end of the tube, substantially as shown.

GEORGE J. DEFFNER.

Witnesses F. A. CUTTER, M. W. LONGDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

